Defence Department never seriously considered buying anything other than the F-35: retired bureaucrat

F-35 alternatives never seriously considered by Defence Department: retired bureaucrat

By Jeff Davis

Department of National Defence officials charged with selecting Canada’s next fighter jet met with Lockheed Martin — maker of the F-35 — more times than with all other bidders combined before their billion-dollar decision to select it, access to information documents reveal.

Between 2005 and 2011, officials from DND’s Next Generation Fighter Capability Office held a series of meetings with five major aircraft manufacturers “to evaluate and discuss potential replacements for the CF-18.”

DND officials met with Lockheed Martin 21 times over the six-year period, the documents show, and it was the only company granted face time with key figures such as the chief of air staff and the parliamentary secretary for defence.

F-18 Super Hornet manufacturer Boeing landed seven meetings, while BAE, makers of the Eurofighter Typhoon, had eight meetings with Canadian officials. France’s Dassault got only two meetings in which to pitch its Rafale jet, while the Swedish-made Saab Gripen was dismissed after only one.

Alan Williams, who retired from his role as DND’s assistant deputy minister for materiel in 2005, said the military never seriously considered buying anything other than the F-35.

“The Gripen, the Typhoon, the Super Hornet, the Rafale — these were not on the radar,” he said. “These are not what they wanted, so the meetings were mostly pro forma.”

“It seems to me if you made up your mind what product you’re going to buy, you won’t waste time with anything else,” Williams added.

In 2005, officers from the Next Generation Fighter Capability Office embarked on a fighter jet world tour. They visited the headquarters of all five producers — travelling to England, France, Sweden and the U.S. — for an initial look at each option.

Following this initial round, DND officials met with Lockheed Martin — mostly at its production facility in Fort Worth, Texas — seven times in 2006 and 2007 before any more meetings were held with other competitors.

Unlike any other bidder, Lockheed Martin held out enticing carrots to Canadian industry, in the form of meetings about: “Support to Industry Canada: An Industrial Participation Plan.”

One of these meetings in 2009 featured discussions between Lockheed Martin and Canadian aerospace firm Pratt and Whitney, which specializes in jet engines. On its website, Pratt and Whitney now says its F119 engine is the “the forefather of the advanced F135 propulsion system, currently powering the F-35 Lightning II’s flight test program”

Occurring parallel to Lockheed Martin’s lobbying efforts were periodic F-35 CEO Conferences, in which key countries such as Canada that made earlier investments in the project received updates on the project.

In February 2010, Lockheed Martin officials visiting Ottawa became the first and only company to gain direct access to a political official: parliamentary secretary for defence Laurie Hawn.

The successful lobbying campaign ended on an apparent high note, in the form of a “Lockheed Martin Courtesy Call to the Chief of Air Staff” Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps.

David Bercuson, the director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, said “there never really was a competition” at all.

Unlike any other jet under consideration, he said, Canada had already invested in the development of the F-35. Since 1997, when Canada signed on to the project as a partner nation, it has contributed more than $200 million U.S. to the project’s coffers, the documents show.

“So it’s not a surprise they would have met with Lockheed Martin many more times than anyone else,” Bercuson said. “In effect, the government of Canada committed itself to be part of the project a long time ago.”

Competitor companies know Lockheed Martin has the deal locked in, he said, but that won’t stop them from trying.

“In a sense, Lockheed Martin is in the room with the government and everyone else is outside banging on the door,” Bercuson said. “They’re trying to persuade government this a bad choice and to open the competition.”

Williams said DND procurement officials bowed to pressure from senior generals who wanted the F-35 and nothing else. As time went on, he said, the statement of requirement for Canada’s next jet fighter was written in such a way that only the F-35 could win.

“Its what we call wiring the specs,” Williams said. “This is the most distorted hijacking of a procurement process you could ever make.”

Williams said the meetings with Lockheed’s competitors may have been conducted “to lay a paper trail” and create the impression that all options were given due consideration.

NDP defence procurement critic Matthew Kellway said he’s confounded by the government’s refusal to seriously consider all options to replace the CF-18s.

“With so much going wrong, the easiest thing is to push it off arm’s length by putting it out to tender,” he said. “They have resisted that consistently and I can’t understand why.”